Atifa's pov:

Bhai and bhabi coming to visit us so soon was a surprise. At least for me it was because I thought they might come later on. But I was glad that they came. I hadn't even realised it but I missed bhabi and Alayna so much! And I really wanted to meet the little munchkin but we didn't know when we would have been able to meet them because of ammi's health.

Although I did get a bit worried because Amira was supposed to study and now she got a good excuse to take a break. Again.

Sighing, I shook my head before listening to whatever bhabi was saying. In Sha Allah she will paas all of her exams with good marks.

"Where are you lost?" She was looking at me with a raised brow.

"No where, just thinking about dinner." Looking down at the snacks which I was taking out, I replied. It wasn't entirely a lie, I was thinking about it too. I didn't know what to cook in such a short time. And that too when I could only freely work with one of my hands since the other was in a sling.

"Ya Allah, why are you getting so worried?! We will order something na. And anyways, we aren't here to give you any stress. You are on bedrest so you should rest. We just wanted to meet you guys and I couldn't stop myself from forcing Maaz to bring us here as soon as possible." She went on. God, how much I missed her talkative self! In Suva it used to be Emaan, always talking about something or the other, and in Savusavu it was bhabi giving me company.

"I'm not getting worried. And I'm happy that you came by, but how could you guys eat from outside when you came to meet us? I'll-"

"Thank God you are here Saad. Look at your wife! She is fretting over dinner when she should be on bedrest." Before I could even complete myself, bhabi interrupted while looking towards the door. Glancing up, I found him coming into the kitchen.

"She doesn't have any other work." Shaking his head, he replied to her while narrowing his eyes at me when he caught my gaze.

"Don't get started again! I can't argue with you now." Looking down again, I mumbled in annoyance. Why did he have to intervene?

"I didn't start anything. And don't worry bhabi, I'll be bringing dinner on my way back after Isha." Halting a few feets away from us, he replied assuringly, making me frown.

I wouldn't have had any problem if it was some other time. But if his mom knew that I let them eat from outside when her son and daughter-in-law especially came to meet us, what would she think?! She was already upset with me and this would just add to her list of complaints. And I didn't want that. At all. "But I was thinking of making-"

"Make it when you are fine. Which will be after a month. So until then, rest and let your mind rest too, understood?" Saad commanded sternly, not letting me complete myself.

"No. Bhabi-"

"I'm already telling you that I'm on Saad's side this time. I won't listen to anything that you have to say. And if you still insist, I will ask Maaz to book a room for us somewhere else for tonight and we will leave tomorrow. We aren't here to stress you out." Raising her hands up, she told me with a shrug.

"What kind of emotional blackmailing is this?!" I whined with a frown. They were going to ruin my image in front of aunty more if she ever gets to know!

"The one which only I'm allowed to do." Shrugging her shoulders while munching on a wafer, she replied smugly.

"Not bad bhabi. I'm impressed!" Looking at her incredulously, Saad commented in awe while I glared at them, sulking silently.

"Don't you have any other work to do? Hamesha yaha aa jaate hai mujhe tang karne." I grumbled quietly while trying to lift the tray off the countertop. But it wasn't really possible with just one hand.

(You always come here to tease me.)

"Haa haina? Give me this tray, I'll be leaving you both now." Giving me a disappointed look with a shake of his head, he grabbed the tray before leaving.

(Yeah right?)

"Don't forget to take Abdul Wali with you for Isha." Calling out from behind, bhabi grinned while looking at me. Here goes nothing!

._._._.

"I can't believe you guys are planning to book a room for the night!" I groaned with a frown while glaring at bhabi from the dining room's door frame. They were all sitting in the living room after dinner when bhabi asked us about a nearby hotel.

"We don't want to trouble you Atifa. You are not well and-"

"You are troubling me right now by wanting to stay somewhere else when you can stay here." Shaking my head, I grumbled while leaning back.

"Alayna will stay here, okay? But we will leave because-"

"Even you guys are staying here. Abdul Wali and you can share the room with Atifa, can't you?" Saad finally intervened with a sigh while looking at them incredulously.

"And what about you and Maaz?" Bhabi raised a questioning brow.

"We will sleep on the couch. It isn't a big deal." He brushed off her question while staring at bhai.

"Don't look at me like that! I don't mind anything. Tell that to your bhabi!" Catching Saad's intense gaze, bhai raised his hands in surrender, a baffled look on his face.

Shooting her husband a deadly glare, she turned to face us. "But I don't feel like-"

"It's final and you aren't allowed to argue anymore!" I interrupted firmly while standing straight. 

"Yeah. Now you should go and rest. It must have been a long journey." Saad suggested.

"What do you think about calling Ali here? I mean, we can have a boys night maybe?" Leaning back comfortably, bhai suggested uncertainly.

"Aapka to kahi bhi shuru ho jaata haina?!" I could feel bhabi rolling her eyes as she made her way towards me in annoyance.

(You start planning anywhere, don't you?)

"What? I was just suggesting! And waise bhi, it has been a long time since we enjoyed our boys night!" Frowning, bhai defended himself quickly.

(And anyways, it has been a long time since we enjoyed our boys night!)

"Bhabi rehne dijiye na, even we are having a girl's night so let them enjoy themselves!" I tried to suppress my smile.

(Let it be, even we are having a girl's night so let them enjoy themselves!)

"Who could even stop them?!" She had mumbled quietly with a shake of her head while heading to the kitchen, but not before glancing back at her husband once.

"You don't mind me calling Ali here?" Before I could follow her, coming to stand in front of me, my husband asked skeptically.

"No, not at all! Why would I even mind it?" Looking at him, I frowned.

"Yeah yeah, why would you have any problem? Jo problem hoti hai wo to mujhe hoti haina…" Mumbling under his breath in annoyance, he moved away while taking out his phone, making my lips twitch up.

(The one who has to face problems is me right… )

It was fun teasing him.

"Aapne kuch kaha?" Biting my lips, I asked him feigning innocence.

(Did you say something?)

"Nahi, kuch nahi."

(No, nothing.)

._._._.

"Take whatever you both want before going into the room. I don't want you to come out once he is here." When I was taking out some snacks for us, I heard his quiet voice from behind me.

Turning around to face him, I raised a brow. "Are you telling me that?" He had a frown on his face as he texted away on his phone.

"Yeah, who else can you see here?" His frown deepened while looking up.

"But why? We might need coffee later on and I can't take it with me now. It will get cold." I frowned too.

"Why would you guys even want to drink coffee at night?! It has caffeine!"

"Yeah but-"

"No need to drink coffee. And anyways, you need complete rest, remember?" Raising a brow, he reminded me.

"But bhabi is here. And we are meeting after so long! How can I-"

"I didn't ask them to stay here for you to ruin your sleep. And even bhabi must be tired from the trip, so let her rest too." Interrupting me sternly, he turned his attention back to his phone.

"Why are you so… soo…"

"What?" Glancing up, he raised a brow in amusement.

"Khadoos!" Gritting my teeth, I stomped my foot before leaving. But not before passing him a glare. I shouldn't have even told him about our night plan!

(Rude!)

._._._.

It was past my usual bedtime and Abdul Wali had just gone back to sleep. Amira and Alayna had fallen asleep in their room, I knew that because they were already sleepy when we retired to our room. Now I didn't know about our husbands and Ali bhai, because they were definitely an 'unexpected trio', especially when they meet, as bhabi quoted.

I couldn't help but agree with her reminiscing how they left us at the grocery store just for a football match. Ah, it was definitely an eventful day!

But my mind wasn't thinking about that right now. I wanted to ask bhabi so many things. About what happened when we left and how he handled things…

But I wasn't sure if she would tell me anything. And I wouldn't even get to know unless and until I ask her.

Gathering my courage, I turned to her hopefully. "Can I ask you something bhabi?"

"Yeah sure, go ahead! Why are you even asking me this question? Just ask me whatever you want to."

Smiling, I bit my lips before asking. "What happened when we left? Like… How were things there and... how did he handle it?"

Her gaze softened as she passed me a small smile. "Why are you thinking about it now? It's all in the past, you shouldn't think about it."

"I know bhabi. But it's just that… I wanted to know. I- He knows almost everything about me, but me? I don't even know anything much about him…" I mumbled while looking down.

"Accha tell me, what happened here? When you guys left?"

(Okay tell me,)

"Nothing much. We were told never to mention you guys and expected to live as though he never existed… We couldn't even mention you guys in front of ammi. And the results? Ammi eventually forgot everything that happened in the last few years… I- Maybe if we would have kept mentioning you guys she wouldn't have forgotten anything…" Tears brimmed my eyes as I thought about it.

"Atifa…" Holding my hand, bhabi replied while squeezing them slightly. "Please don't think like that. It was meant to happen this way. It was already written in our fate."

"I know bhabi. But still… It's so hard to believe whatever is happening right now. I don't even want to believe it! It's not that I'm not happy to have finally met you guys, but I- I can't see ammi like this… She has become so helpless, so hopeless…" I couldn't hold my tears back anymore. They were just… unstoppable…

"And none of that is yours or Amira's fault." She tried to assure me.

"I- I don't know bhabi, I don't know. It's hard to believe that because I keep thinking about what ifs…"

"Atifa, listen to me. All these doubts and what ifs are from shaytaan. He forces us to think like this because he wants us to forget about Allah SWT. He wants us to forget about the fact that Allah SWT has already written our fates. Everything was already written and it was supposed to happen this way. Nothing could have changed it. If you weren't supposed to know about things then you would have never gotten to know anything. Shaytaan makes us forget about Allah SWT's blessings in these hard times. That's his goal. And if you start thinking negatively, if you start doubting things and thinking about what ifs, he will succeed. And we don't want that, do we?" Holding my shoulders and turning me to face her, she told me gently.

(Shaytaan - devil)
(Allah SWT - God)

Shaking my head, I tried to wipe my tears away. But they weren't stopping. It felt like I had no other work than crying, and that was frustrating me more.

"Meri jaan, it's okay. Things happen and many times we don't even get to know about it before it's too late. But you are so lucky in this case. Alhamdulillah. You got to know about ammi's health when she still has some time. And it's not too late. Think about the positive side, Atifa. You might have never gotten to know about ammi's health if things went the way they were going since she didn't want you guys to know. And maybe you wouldn't have met Saad either if it weren't already written in His plans. I agree, maybe things shouldn't have unfolded this way, but it was written by Allah SWT to happen this way. And He never makes mistakes. There was a reason behind this too. Maybe we aren't that knowledgeable to fully know about it, but at least we can try to look at the positive side? At least we can try not to be ungrateful or start blaming ourselves or anyone else. At least we could try to thank Allah for the things which we know now and pray for her?"

(My love, it's okay.)

"Yeah bhabi, you are right. I- I shouldn't be ungrateful and lose my hope. I- In fact I should be grateful for so many things. But I chose to focus mainly on the negative side! I know it's my fault. But- but bhabi, you can't blame me. I- I was so confused. I was so-" Looking up, a hiccup escaped my lips.

"No one is blaming you Atifa. No one is blaming you for anything. Please don't think like that. You did an amazing job. As a daughter, as a sister and as a wife. You did an amazing job. You did whatever you could do while being in so much pain yourself. While trying to heal yourself. While trying to be there for aunty, Amira and Saad too. And I'm so proud of you for that. I can't even imagine handling so many things all at once." Hugging me, bhabi inquired softly. "Okay enough now. How much more are you going to cry over this, hmm?" When I didn't reply, she continued. "Let bygones be bygones now. Don't think much about it, okay?"

"I- I'll try…" Pulling myself away from bhabi, I sniffed, wiping my tears away. Why was I so weak? How could I just start crying in front of anyone without thinking about anything?! I hated this vulnerability! I despised it so much!

"That's like a good girl!" Bhabi passed me a soft smile.

"I'm not a girl anymore bhabi!" I forced a strangled chuckle out, trying to divert our topic of discussion.

"Yeah yeah, I know." She grinned before rubbing her hands in excitement and starting. "Anyways, back to your question. So many things have happened since you left. I don't even know where to start or what to tell you! Mama was upset with all of us, but especially with Saad and..."

._._._.

"Do you think taking them to meet ammi is a good idea?" Saad asked me worriedly. Although his eyes were on his laptop, he seemed entirely consumed by this meeting.

"It should be. I mean, she is behaving okay with you, so she should be okay with meeting your family too, right?" I counter questioned him back, unsure about it myself.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm not so sure. She might still need some time to get over the fact that you are married and she doesn't remember most of the things which happened in the past few years… It must be stressful for her because she might be trying to remember things. And that itself isn't good for her health." He shook his head in distress.

"I know… But we can't stop them from meeting ammi. It would look rude. Trust Allah S.W.T, Saad. And anyways, they know ammi's condition. If anything happens, they will leave."

Looking up at me uncertainly, he nodded his head with a sigh. "Okay. As you say."

Passing him an assuring smile, I pinned my hijab in place as he turned to close his laptop.

Knocking on the ajar door, bhabi entered the room, all ready to head out. "I was wondering if we could hang out somewhere while coming back from the hospital. You know, something like a family outing? Even if it's just a picnic in a garden or dinner outside. What do you guys say?"

"You do know that I have a lot of work to do, right? And even Amira, Alayna and Atifa have their exams in a few days, remember?" Raising a brow, he stood up from his place.

"I know." Smiling sheepishly, she insisted hopefully. "But it's a once in a lifetime opportunity yaar! I can't just let it go. Who knows if we will ever come back here or not?! And we might have to leave by tonight or tomorrow morning. So pleaseee."

(But it's a once in a lifetime opportunity man!)

"Why are you leaving so soon?" It was me this time.

"Maaz doesn't have much holidays so he has to get back to work. And even Alayna has her exams. Plus, shouldn't we keep the remaining few holidays for your return? Your wedding functions are still remaining and I don't want him to work during that time." She replied with an excited glint in her eyes as they danced between me and Saad.

"Oh. But it would have been good if you guys would have stayed longer. I really missed you and Alayna." Trying to avoid her hints, I told her. I wasn't ready to face those questions.

"I missed you too. But it's okay. We will be meeting each other soon now, In Sha Allah. Right?" Sighing, she inquired hopefully.

(If God wills.)

"Yeah, In Sha Allah." I gave her a small smile.

(If God wills.)

"If both of you ladies are done with your 'I miss you's', can we leave now?" Raising his brow, he asked us. He sounded annoyed to say the least.

"Don't be jealous now, Mister. And by the way, you still didn't answer my question." Folding her arms, she asked him while raising both of her brows in question.

"Which question?" He genuinely sounded lost as his eyes moved between us in confusion.

"About us going out after hospital!" She face palmed before turning to face me. "Yaar, your husband is very clueless!" She looked so done with him that it almost made me chuckle.

(Man, your husband is very clueless!)

"I agree." Grinning, I glanced at him who was looking at us in annoyance now.

"Fine! No need to annoy me now. You can do whatever you want!" Heaving a sigh, he grumbled before heading out.

"I would have done that anyway." Mumbling under her breath while watching his retreating figure, she looked at me expectantly. "Now tell me where can we go?"

A chuckle escaped my lips while tying my niqab at her excitement. She hadn't changed a bit. And I was glad about that.

._._._.

Surprisingly, ammi had a very calm reaction when they met her. In fact, it felt like she was already expecting them or someone from Saad's family to visit her. And she was kind of disappointed that they came by so late. But it really wasn't the time and place to explain the whole story to her. So we let that slide. I wasn't really expecting such a calm reaction, but I was glad.

"Oh, how old is your son?" There was an excited glimmer in her orbs as she inquired.

"He is two years old." Bhabi replied with a smile. She was sitting in front of her on a chair while I sat on her bed by her legs, wanting to be as close to her as possible. Bhai was standing behind bhabi while Alayna sat with me.

"And you didn't bring him with you? Why?" Astonished, she inquired.

"No no, we did. We just left him outside with Saad." Chuckling, she answered her quickly.

"He's here too? Then why is he outside? Did I do something? Is he upset with me?" She frowned, astonishment and excitement dissipating from her eyes as quickly as they appeared.

"No ammi, ya Allah! It's nothing like that. Even Amira is with him. The doctor asked us not to crowd the room, that's why they didn't come in." I quickly butted in, trying not to stress her out. Trying to keep her away from stress was stressing me out.

"There is no such thing as crowding the room! Ask them to come in. I want to meet their baby and your husband." Her frown deepened.

"You can meet them after our turn ammi. I don't want anyone to say-"

"No one will say anything. They just make these rules to keep their crowd in control. And nothing will happen if they come in too. It's not like I'm asking you to call his whole family here." Ammi interrupted me, sounding annoyed.

"And won't we be breaking their rules if we call them here?" I dared to ask her cautiously, afraid of her anger.

"Rules are made to be broken." Shrugging her shoulders, she replied nonchalantly. "Now are you going to call them or what?"

"Ammi! Why are you so stubborn?!" I stomped my feet in annoyance while taking out my phone.

"She still has that fierce side to her." Amused, bhai commented with a chuckle, making my lips twitch up slightly. And I was glad about that too. Alhamdulillah.

._._._.

"Why are you guys leaving so soon?" With helpless doe-like eyes, Amira asked them. She wasn't ready to leave Alayna's hand and let her go.

"Your Maaz bhai has some urgent work princess, warna we would have definitely stayed longer." Bending down, bhabi replied softly, looking apologetic.

(Or else)

"Then you guys can leave na. Let Alayna stay here with us. Even Saad Bhai is here." She pouted.

"Yes, but even she has her exams na. Just like you. And anyways, you are going to come back after your exams, right?" Bhabi tried to convince her gently.

"Yeah but I will miss her. And Abdul Wali too." She was on the verge of crying.

"And you won't miss me?" Bhai teased, interrupting them.

"Shut up, Maaz! This isn't the time for your silly jokes!" Bhabi chided sternly.

"When did I even make a joke? And how is it even silly?" Bhai pouted.

"Ya Allah! Let me listen to her first, then I'll look at you." She was so annoyed that it almost made me chuckle even in this situation. I was going to miss this.

"You can always look at me all you want. I'm all yours." He winked at her, and I couldn't hold in my chuckle anymore. Ya Allah, he was so cheesy!

"Ewww Bhai! At least look where you are before speaking!" Alayna made a disgusted face, making Amira chuckle through her tears. A smile made its way onto my lips as my shoulders sagged in relief, at least she managed to make her smile.

"What? I told that to my wife, not to anyone else!" He defended himself.

"They are cute, aren't they?" His quiet voice almost made me jump, making me realise he was standing right beside me all this while.

Without looking at him, I nodded my head, unbothered about him getting my answer or not. It was a rhetorical question anyways. It didn't need an answer in the first place.

"Sach me Maaz, that was so ridiculous! How could you even say that? Especially in front of these kids?!" Indicating towards Amira and Alayna with her eyes, she raised a brow. Her arms folded as she turned to face him.

(Really Maaz, that was so ridiculous!)

"Now I can't even say anything to my wife!" He huffed under his breath - although it was loud enough for us to hear - before sulking and walking away, looking just like a kid who was denied his favourite toffee.

"Okay enough! Where is Abdul Wali? And-"

"He's with me. And it looks like he's ready to stay with me!" Finally walking towards bhabi and reminding them of our presence, Saad replied.

"Now please don't start you too!" Turning to face him, she face palmed, annoyance clear on her face. Chuckling, I shook my head before heading back into the kitchen.

"Ya Allah it's getting late, come on Zara!" I could faintly hear bhai shouting from outside.

"Haa haa, aapko to bas mai hi dikhai deti hu na chillane! Mai late kar rahi hu yaha?!"

(Yeah yeah, you can only see me while shouting! I'm the one making everyone late, right?)

It was all chaos outside the doors of the kitchen as I quickly tried to pack some snacks for their journey. I didn't make anything, more like I wasn't really allowed to, but at least I could pack some things for them. And that was exactly what I was doing as they continued to banter among themselves about one thing or the other. The once silent house was so lively that day that I didn't feel like letting that chaos leave us alone again.

I knew what would come once they would leave. It would be all silence again and we would all try to return back to our old routines. But I… I didn't really want to study or give my exams. It felt like I was falling back to that dark hole and I didn't even know what to do to hold myself back.

Even though everyone was there and they tried their best to comfort me and be there for me as much as they could, I still couldn't help it. It just felt inevitable. I just- It felt like I just couldn't do it anymore. Maybe it was just a rebound and I would be back to normal in some time, but that was what I felt at that time. And I didn't know what to do about it or who to talk to about it. It was too much! Everything just kept adding on and it felt like I wouldn't be able to get past it.

I knew no one would understand me the way I wanted them to, because I couldn't understand myself at that time either. But as they say, every problem has a solution, we just have to look for it, find it. Mine had too. And I just had to do it. I had to let things out. And I knew exactly who to turn to, who to talk about it to.

Because only He would be able to understand me no matter what. Afterall He understands everyone. And He doesn't disappoint us or let our tears go to waste. He has promised us ease after every hardship. So how could he let me suffer like this forever? Things will be okay someday. And I would be fine. But for now, I needed to calm down. I needed to be patient. I needed to hold on to that rope of hope which was blurred by my blurry vision, but it was still there. Hidden from my gaze, but still there. It was still there.

._._._.

• What do you guys want to see? Or how do you want the ending to be?

._._._.